


Pranks and Penance

by iluvaqt



Series: DC & Marvel: Nightingale [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Smallville
Genre: F/M, Family, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Loss, Pranks, Self-Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-03
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-24 13:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4921843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iluvaqt/pseuds/iluvaqt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lois decides to help Steve loosen up. She has a very unorthodox way of 'helping'.</p><p>Set during "Vacation" and the final scenes set after the events of "The Mission".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pranks and Penance

Lois spun the keys to her rental on her finger. "You're okay with me stealing my cousin for a little girl time, right, Steve?" 

Steve folded his arms over his chest and nodded once at Lois. He was still trying to get a beat on her. He knew she was the older cousin, protective and had a unique take on social normals but he still wasn't sure how to handle her. He was doing his best not to inadvertently step on any land mines or egg shells. Lois was Chloe's family and it was important he make a good lasting impression. 

So far she seemed to like him, was even supportive of his interest in a relationship with Chloe but he knew winds could change. And they weren't married, Chloe would value her cousin's opinion more than trying to hash things out with him if they came up against disagreements.

"I'm sure I can find something to keep me busy," he said.

"Chloe, get your butt down here. I want to get the bakery while the donuts are still hot."

Chloe skipped down the stairs and kissed Steve on the cheek before following Lois out the door. She missed the disappointment in his face when he wasn't quick enough in turning his head so she'd get his lips instead.

He watched the car get smaller as it rolled along down the dirt path to the property gate and then turn the corner and disappear behind the trees lining the road.

So what to do for a couple hours with no cable, spotty signal reception, and no company? Well there was a sink full of dirty dishes and the house wasn't regularly occupied, it could probably do with a little Spring Cleaning. His mother always told him there was never a reason to be bored if there was housework to do. Idle hands could be lead astray.

So he rolled up his sleeves and went to fill the sink.

::: ::: :::

Chloe had to give her cousin credit for her restraint. She had done nothing but raise an eyebrow when Chloe had made up the third bedroom with linens after they'd brought their bags upstairs. She'd waited to get her out of the house and alone before starting in on her.

"How can you be riding, oh I don't know hours on end up against that and not jump him? He's obviously into you."

Chloe slumped against her seat and sucked in a long fortifying breath before answering her. "Lois, you know things with Jimmy didn't end on the best terms when I left. I don't know if he's still dating Kara but it's just difficult trying to open up after your first intimate relationship bombs that badly."

Lois gripped the steering wheel more tightly. "And you're sure it has nothing to do with a certain tall oblivious dork who walked around with Lana tunnel vision for years?"

Chloe wrinkled her nose at Lois. "Clark and I were hardly a footnote, Lois. And I love him but I'm not in love with him, haven't been for years."

Lois gave her a disbelieving look. "You know that's not what I mean, Chlo. Jimmy, the intern, makes you feel better after Clark bailed on Spring Formal, you sleep with him but he never calls you back. And then after you give him another chance, he ends up flirting with Miss Sweet Corn and leaving you for her. Stay in denial if you want but we both know those two idiots left scars."

Chloe stopped tapping out her message in reply to information Bart was asking for and closed her eyes. Lois knew her well enough that she knew when she was lying and when she was hurting. And they'd promised each other when they were kids that they'd try to always be honest with each other, unless it was to protect a source. And sometimes the truth hurt. 

"I don't want to make the mistake of falling for someone who doesn't feel the same way."

"So what you're really saying is you already have feelings for him."

Chloe gave up texting. She'd have to call Bart later when Lois wasn't so intent on grilling her over her love life. 

"Lois, what's not to like? He's sweet, well mannered, he's thoughtful..."

"He's a man, not a pet, Chlo. Men have needs, eventually if you continue keeping him at arm's length, someone else is going to swoop in there and give him what he's missing."

Chloe snorted. "Steve's more discerning than that."

Lois snickered. "Maybe you were onto something before. Men can be dogs, lead by baser instincts."

"And here I thought you liked, Steve," Chloe protested.

"Sure I think he's great," Lois shrugged. "Which is why I don't get why you're not sleeping together."

"I've never done casual hook ups, Lois. I don't want to just jump into..."

"Chloe, tell me there's been someone else since Jimmy." At her cousin's expression, Lois slammed on the brakes.

"Lois you can't just brake like that!"

Lois pulled over and parked. "There wasn't anyone behind me," she argued. "Don't try to change the subject. What happened to that Grant guy? You sent me a picture and he was being all charming and sort of reminds me of Smallville, if you squint..."

"Lois," Chloe said in warning. "Grant's a messed up apple and my gut told me he wasn't giving anyone the full picture. I'm glad I didn't touch that. Now that I think back on it, I very much doubt his interest was genuine. Probably had more to do with grooming me for information or recruitment later down the road."

"Fine, so what are those instincts telling you about, Steve?"

Chloe closed her hands around her seatbelt and eyed the road. "Should we walk to town or are you going to drive?"

Lois pulled into gear again and turned back onto the road. "You don't trust your instincts where he's concerned, do you."

"No, I don't," Chloe said quietly. "Lois, he's too perfect and he's a good person and I'm..."

"Chloe, not everyone is like Uncle Gabe or Jimmy, you're smart and attractive and you know I wouldn't say that just because you're my cousin and I love you. I always tell you the truth."

"Bulldoze me with it, more like," Chloe said with a weary smile. 

"Steve really likes you. If you ask me, he's totally whipped already. Don't wait too long. With guys like Steve, let's just say time isn't a friend for people in his line of work. For both of you," Lois said with a frown after remembering Chloe knew Steve because of her work with S.H.I.E.L.D. "You don't actually do any spy stuff or field work, right? It's just paper-pushing and training newbies?"

Chloe gave Lois a secretive smile. "Whatever you need to tell yourself so you don't worry is fine with me, Lois."

Lois huffed and then glared at Chloe. "Between Dad, you and Ollie, you will all make me prematurely gray and I swear if I have to start dying my hair before I'm fifty I will send you all the salon bills."

Chloe laughed. "Oliver can afford it. And any spa treatments you might want. How's that going by the way?"

"Him and his green leather thing, and the distance, about as well as you can imagine. But he flies in and sends his jet around every other weekend. But it's worth it, you know?"

Chloe thought about a certain blond waiting patiently for their return. He didn't have to stick around. This was his vacation as much as hers. He could have said no about driving this way. It wasn't part of his original plan to head to Indiana but he didn't mind. He mentioned that it would be a good reason to go a little further and drive through Shelbyville. The birth town of his best friend, James Barnes. The friend he'd lost in the war. He had a sister still living. She had been ten years younger and Steve had found out that she had moved back to Shelbyville from her parents house in New York after the war ended when he'd looked her up. He owed it to Bucky to see his family. After they left Lois, Chloe planned to give him time to do that.

Lois was right, she didn't want to lose Steve to someone else. And that was part of what made her so afraid. What if she went all in and he realized she wasn't what he imagined, or if he wasn't as ready as he thought he was. 70 odd years was a lot of adjustment to make and she knew better than anyone how long first love could linger. For some it might be a frightening thought but when it came to family, if Lois or Clark's life was on the line, she'd trade places in a heartbeat. Her stomach tightened when a painful scenario came to mind, Steve bloodied and dying, reaching for her. Tears welled up over how vivid and real that mental projection felt. 

"Chloe, you're glowing," Lois said softly, a touch of nervousness to her voice.

Chloe immediately snapped to awareness and wiped her eyes quickly. Startled by how deeply she'd been affected by that terrible thought. But her heart pulsed painfully again in reminder of how real that possibility could be. It could have easily been Steve instead of Phil that Loki had impaled. They had all been on the Helicarrier together.

Lois reached over and squeezed Chloe's hand, the same one that had been giving off an otherworldly golden luminescence only seconds earlier. She was proving she wasn't afraid of her cousin even though this was the first time she'd actually seen it, she knew instinctively that this was Chloe's power. And it was connected with deep emotion. Of course it would be connected to empathy. No one cared as much for others as her cousin. Since she was little Chloe had a way of making people feel better, sometimes she didn't even say a word. She was just there.

"Hang on and treasure every second we do have. That's all we've got, Chlo."

::: ::: :::

They pulled up to through the property gate early afternoon to find Steve outside with a ladder up against the house. He was cleaning out the gutters. Lois had to raise her arms to see him properly but he was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and his white t-shirt was dirty from all the work he'd been doing. She also noticed that the wood pile was fully stocked and the decking shone from having been recently oiled.

"Do you think I can take him home for a couple days? My place could do with some sprucing."

"Lois, as you said before, he's not a pet and no you can't take him home. He's mine."

Lois grinned at her widely. "And she finally stakes her claim. My work here is done."

Chloe rolled her eyes at her cousin but have her a half smile in return, while shaking her head.

They went around to the front door so they wouldn't have to walk under the ladder. Chloe waved to Steve and called out that she'd bring him a drink.

Lois stopped and Chloe ended up walking into her when she blocked the doorway. 

"What?"

The what was answered when she peeked around her cousin. The house was spotless. The sink was empty and the kitchen surfaces wiped down. The shelves had all been dusted and the sitting room tidied from all the trash they'd left out from the late night of DVD movie binging they done the night before. And that wasn't all, he'd organised the spice rack and the flour, sugar and hot drink containers by group and size.

"I think your guy might have slight OCD."

Chloe shook her head, "Lois," she said carefully. 

She'd seen her cousin react this way once before. When her father had tried to go Drill Sergeant on them. It worked for all of five minutes the General was home, before he was called away again and Lois would let the facade drop. Chloe didn't know if it was rebellion against her father's strict rules or because Lois was naturally chaotic but Lois couldn't keep anything but an article in an orderly fashion.

Watching her cousin's expression, Chloe wondered now if Lois actually took it as a personal challenge to investigate people's pet peeves. To watch what made them tick. A method to her madness?

A devious smile pulled at her older cousin's lips and Chloe knew mischief was brewing and it wouldn't bode well for Steve.

In the following days, her suspicions were proved right when a harassed looking Steve had a hamper full of laundry under his arm. 

"I don't know what's wrong with the laundry powder but I've done the load twice now and it still doesn't feel..." He shifted uncomfortably and tried to widen his stance to loosen the crotch area and Chloe could tell that he wanted itch but he's ingrain social etiquette wouldn't let him. "Do you think it's the machine? It's different to the one I'm used to but followed all the directions."

Chloe took pity on him. She wasn't about to rat Lois out but she wasn't going to let Steve suffer either. "Give it to me. When I go to the post office I'll take it to the coin laundry just in case it is the machine. It's got to be on the way out anyway, it belonged to our grandparents." She winced when she realized what she said. She tried to be careful when labelling anything old. She knew how annoyed Steve could get when anyone joked about his birth age.

Steve waved off her concern and kissed her forehead. "Thank you. I'm going to take another shower. I think I might be allergic to something in the detergent."

Chloe bit her lip to keep from smiling as he headed back upstairs. Allergic to someone's itching powder more like. Lois had obviously found her trunk of tricks and pranks in the attic. 

She only hoped that Lois knew when to pull back. She had no idea how Steve would react to some of the gags Lois could come up with.

::: ::: :::

It was another two pranks before Steve seemed to clue in to the fact that someone was messing with him. And rather than confront the culprit, or ask Chloe, he dealt with it himself.

Lois came downstairs one morning with green hair.

Chloe had been drinking coffee at the time and snorted it out of her nose. Steve had been calmly eating breakfast and only raised an eyebrow at Lois' hair, but he was out of his chair quickly to help Chloe when she started choking.

"Lo," she croaked struggling to breathe. Steve kept rubbing her back and Lois glared in his direction.

"I'll be heading to the salon later. Want to come along for a mani, Chlo? I'm sure Steve can find something useful to do."

Steve straightened and nodded. Happy that Chloe was breathing normally again, he collected a wet cloth to clean up the coffee stains. "I was thinking replacing some of the old tiles on the roof. Check for leaks and such."

"That sounds great," Chloe said gratefully. "If you need any supplies, call me while we're out and I'll pick it up from builder's hardware."

Looking across at Lois, Chloe mentally tallied, 2:1

Lois might have sent Steve spare turning the thermostat up in his room at night but he's gotten her good by adding dye to her leave in conditioner.

::: ::: :::

When she slept, she slept like a rock. Nothing but the smell of coffee or her phone could wake her if she was out. Although she hadn't really tested her door alarm yet. No one had tried to break into her room while she was sleeping when she was away from home. While she was here, she'd taken to rigging the alarms to the front and back doors of the house instead of her room.

Chloe did find it odd however that she hadn't woken up when someone put industrial earmuffs on her head while she slept.

She stumbled out of bed to the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and combed her hair, then went downstairs. 

She had to rub her eyes when she did a double take upon noticing Steve. He was an early riser. He didn't seem to need a lot of sleep. Yet here he was looking more disheveled than she'd ever seen him, his hair sticking up at all angles, drool forming a puddle under his cheek while he rested his head on the dining table.

"Steve?" she called softly, shaking his shoulder.

He startled awake and nearly fell off the chair. He blinked, with a panicked look in his eyes before he noticed her and sagged in relief. "I couldn't sleep in my room. Sorry," he said, wiping his face with his hand in embarrassment. "I'll clean up." He quickly got out of his chair and went to fetch the disinfectant from the cupboard and a rag from the sink. 

Before he could even start to wipe down the table. Chloe took the items from him. "You look tired, which for you I'm sure is an impressive feat. Go sleep in my bed. I'll wake you up when I've made your favourite."

The smile he gave her was like a kid at Christmas. "We have all the food for a fry up,m?" he asked his eyes warm and hopefully.

"If we don't have everything, I'll make a quick trip out. You look like you could use the extra protein. Go back to bed."

Steve grabbed her a crushing hug. "You're an angel."

When Lois appeared looking a little bleary eyed herself, Chloe didn't have pity for her. "You did the bugle thing didn't you? I thought you would have learned your lesson when your Dad used his belt and you couldn't sit for a whole day. 

Lois shrugged. "Mom and Gran thought it was funny. The way Dad barrelled down the stairs in his striped PJs and snapped to attention at the crack of dawn was priceless."

"He sure didn't agree with you there."

"No, but do you want to see what Steve did? You didn't tell me he sleeps in the buff. And I don't get it. He kept doing it all night, no matter how many times it played."

Chloe was very glad she wasn't eating or drinking when Lois made that comment. Her cheeks aching from smiling so widely, all she could do was shake her head. Remembering the first time she'd spent a morning with him that came to mind and she witnessing that fabulous body in all it's unclothed glory. Unlike Steve, she wasn't gifted with perfect recall, and she was sorely tempted to take Lois up on seeing her recording.

"Lois, if you value your peace of mind and anything you've brought along with you, I suggest you get rid of your evidence. No one can accuse you of any wrongdoing without evidence."

Lois pondered the thought. "You're probably right. I guess it's not really fair that footage like that exists. How can mere mortals possibly compete?"

Chloe pressed her head against the refrigerator door. Her brain had already descended into the smutty trenches with what she would like to do with Steve, Lois' comments weren't helping. "Lois, delete it right now or I'll wipe your entire laptop."

::: ::: :::

Steve was orderly and routine based. He kept his belongings tidy. He never left laundry lying around and his bathroom kit was always nearly packed on the counter, his toothbrush was one of only two items left out and in a glass, along with his hair comb.

So when his toothbrush wasn't where he had left it upon waking the next morning, he was naturally agitated. It also didn't help that it was wet. 

He was so out of sorts that Chloe queried him on it. There was a long pause before he answered. 

"My toothbrush wasn't where I left it."

Chloe sighed. "You know that she won't stop. Lois always has to have the last play, last word, last move..."

"Got it," Steve said with a resigned huff. "But she should know that I don't quit."

Chloe have him a rueful smile. "I was worried you'd say that. Thankfully, we leave tomorrow. So you may just get to beat her at her own game," she said softly just in case there were any listening devices in earshot.

Steve knew just the thing. He still couldn't believe Lois had put a chicken in his room. He'd had a devil of a time trying to catch the thing, there were feathers and poop everywhere. He needed something lasting, something loud and unexpected.

He wondered if she'd messed with his toothbrush because of her constant complaining of his leaving the toilet seat up. He wasn't used to sharing space with women. His mother had her own bathroom, an ensuite in their apartment.

The following morning, after he was sure that Chloe was downstairs eating breakfast, he quickly went upstairs and booby trapped the toilet seat. He intentionally left the seat up, tied to a bit of fishing wire that he attached to a flashbang hidden behind the plumbing tube. 

Then he went downstairs. About twenty minute later when he heard Lois get up, he waited. His knee bouncing nervously under the table. Chloe sipped her coffee eyeing him suspiciously.

"I hope you know what you've opened yourself up for."

There was a loud bang that echoed through the house and sounded exactly like a grenade would. Chloe had a kitchen knife in her hand faster than he could even blink.

A loud thump and crash that sounded like something heavy had impacted against a wall or the floor. There was definitely something broken too. At Chloe's fearful glance at the stairs, Steve felt guilty that he might have gone to an extreme. Possibly really injured Lois.

The woman in question appeared on the stairs, carefully navigating her way by feeling the wall. 

She glared darkly at him, before a devious smile tugged at her lips. "You upped the anti, Rogers. You might think you're home free but a Lane never forgets. You're cleaning the bathroom by the way."

Chloe looked between them, taking in Lois' wet hair, the wild, unfocused look in her eyes and the way she was limping. "What happened to you and what's wrong with the bathroom?"

"Broken faucet. I tripped but Steve can handle it before you go. I turned off the main and the supplies are in the basement."

Steve circled around Lois. "Chloe, I've packed the bike. I'll fix the plumbing and then we should head off. It's about an hour to Shelbyville but I'd like to make it to West Virginia by tonight, so we only have the last leg by week's end to see us back in D.C."

Chloe nodded her ascent. She kissed Lois on the cheek and hugged her tight, paying little mind to her damp night shirt. "Thank you so much for meeting up with us, Lo. It's been so great to kick back with you."

"Likewise, Chloe. And I might have just found a worthy prank master, so you'll have to keep him around," she said with a wink.

Chloe shook her head and fought a grin. "I'll keep your thirst for competitiveness in mind."

::: ::: :::

At 88 years of age, Rebecca didn't move very fast anymore. She was probably even more cautious over the fact that she took a tumble three-years ago and needed hip ball replacement surgery. It took months for her to get full mobility back and there were still days where her sciatica would flare up and no amount of painkillers would help her sleep.

"I'm coming," she called out when she heard the door bell chime in the sitting room. If she didn't yell out, visitors always assumed she wasn't home. And those delivery services never waited long and she just didn't have the energy to make the trip to the depot to collect anything. She usually ended up paying extra to get them to deliver again and leave it without a signature.

Her hand shook slightly as she twisted the keys in the locks. Her youngest son had insisted she get double barrel locks on the front door and a security screen. Rebecca thought it was unnecessary. When Herbert was alive and they children had been young, she had never locked any doors till dark. And then it was mostly so Nathan, her eldest, wouldn't go sleep walking in the garden.

But Peter lived in New York now, with his big stock broking position, and all manner of strange and dangerous things happened over there so she understood his concerns over safety.

When she finally got her door open, she almost fell over in her shock. She clapped both hands over her mouth and tears formed in her eyes. It was though he hasn't aged a day. It was like looking at a photograph come to life. 

Last year when they'd opened the War Memorial commemorating the heroes of WWII, Nathan had driven over and taken her to see it, along with his twin girls. Peter, her youngest was married to his job and never had any children. Looking at pictures of those two men she'd grown up chasing after as a little girl had been heartbreaking. No amount of accolades or medals was worth losing them. But that was the price of war. Good men and women made the ultimate sacrifice so others could live in peace.

"Steve," she said her voice cracking.

He smiled that tentative, nervous smile she was so familiar with. As though he was still unsure of his welcome. "Hello, Rebecca."

With a trembling weathered hand, she touched his smooth, chiseled looking jaw, before she noticed the young woman, quietly standing at his side. A warm, gentle smile on her face.

His companion extended her hand. "Chloe Sullivan, Mrs. Cooper, I'm pleased to meet you."

Rebecca took Chloe's hand and didn't let go. She pulled the girl in and hugged her. Over her shoulder, she gave Steve a pointed look. "Now this one, I approve. Those girls James was always trying to set you up with were all ninny brained and fake to boot. Now come in and I'll get tea on."

Chloe helped and they spent an afternoon listening to Rebecca tell of Steve and James' childhood growing up in Brooklyn.

"I never got used to the city," Rebecca explained. "Dad passed and then you and James never came home," her voice wavered and Steve covered her hand, she smiled at him sadly. "I didn't have a reason to stay anymore. I sold the house moved back here. I'm glad I did or I wouldn't have met my Herbert."

Chloe followed her gaze to the wedding portrait on the wall. A serious, yet attractive young man held a pretty young Rebecca's hand as they posed for their picture.

"He would have driven James spare. Herbert was an engineer and became the city planner, he was a very meticulous person. I think you and he would have gotten along well, Steve."

Steve smiled. "Two compulsive personalities would have made Bucky nuts."

Rebecca wrinkled her nose. "I never did like that nickname. He gets thrown from a horse once and it sticks."

"Buck always wore all his scars with pride. It was just his thing. He couldn't stop showing off his stitches and I remember your Dad having to cover it with plasters so he would stop picking at it."

Rebecca laughed but sombered up suddenly. "I couldn't stand the fact that I was left behind, I wanted so badly to be able to follow you both. But the day they gave me his medal," she said nodding to case above the mantle, "I realized how much more tragic it would have been for our family, if we'd all been lost to the war."

Chloe got up and read the certificate companying the Medal of Honor framed there. 

"... to SGT Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes., United States Army. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty. France, 15 January 1945."

"The day Bucky fell," Steve said quietly. "I remember making my report to Colonel Phillips, that Bucky had shielded us both when the HYDRA agent used the energy weapon on us, but he wasn't strong enough to bear the shield and the force of the deflected blast threw him outside. I'm glad the Colonel took my recommendation to award him for his selfless bravery and his dedication to the mission. If we'd been killed, Zola would have escaped and Jones would have been taken captive. I'm sorry I couldn't bring him home, Rebecca."

The old woman took Steve's hand in hers and squeezed it. His tear filled eyes reflected in her own. "No one loved him more than us, Steve. And I never blamed you for what happened. Now let's not dwell on what's done anymore. I'm too old to waste time being sad," she joked.

Chloe looked over at Steve to find that Rebecca's attempt at lightening the mood hadn't worked for Steve. As always, time and wasted opportunities were a sensitive point for Steve. And nothing could change his feelings about it, but Steve himself. However painful this visit must be for him, Chloe understood why he needed to do it. It was part of his need for atonement. Paying respects to the family. He hadn't had the opportunity to do it during the war and then he'd been lost himself for a long time. Perhaps with Rebecca assurance, he would be able to forgive himself.

::: ::: :::

Lois had promised that she'd find a way to pay him back for his last prank. But as the weeks passed she forgot about her parting threat. 

After Chloe was brought back to Emil's secure lab in Metropolis, she had flown to D.C. to see how Steve was fairing.

The man she found was a far cry from the mischievous, smiling, smitten Steve she had met in Indiana. When she turned up at the auto and bike repair shop he worked at, he was covered in grease looking forlorn with a deep trench between his brows. He’d startled upon seeing her with her overnight suitcase in tow and her winter coat over her arm, still dressed in her power suit from the office.

“Lois?” he asked, his surprise palpable. “How is she? What’s happened? You didn’t need to come all this way. If you called, I would have come to you.”

Lois shook her head. “There’s no change, and there’s nothing I can do about that. But what I can do is make sure that you’re looking after yourself. Doesn’t look like you are from where I’m standing.”

Steve put away his socket wrench and wiped his hands on a rag. “Those guys wouldn’t tell me anything, and they won’t let me see her, security risk and what rot. You don’t know the last things I said…” He ran a hand over his face, smudging more grim over his cheeks since he hadn’t properly cleaned away all the grease from his hands. 

“She’ll be okay, Steve. I know it. Chloe’s strong and she’s a fighter. She won’t ever give up on us, so don’t you dare get despondent. What you need is a distraction.”

Steve waved his hand at the bike. “Tried that.”

Lois snorted. “No I mean beer, games and good company.”

"Can get drunk," Steve said dismissively.

Lois looped her arm through his and dragged him to the exit. "Never challenge a Lane."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

::: ::: :::

He was surrounded by peers. Some of them had even served in campaigns that had been assisted by his regiment.

Lois had brought beer, chips, dip and donuts. And when she's cracked open the poker case, he'd actually seen some of the older vets swoon.

Some of the more bold of the men had told her next time she should bring the hard stuff.

"Younger men have tried to drink me under the table, sir and lost," Lois said with a wink.

"Darlin' they don't make anything like they used to. We boys were built tough as nails."

Lois nodded. "So my Dad loves to tell me. Okay, I'll bring the malt and the Russian ice with me next time."

After losing every hand he played, even when he didn't have half bad cards, Lois attempted to teach him the art of bluffing. Some of their opponents snoozing and/or drunk, Steve still failed miserably. 

"You know what I think," Lois said on her second night in D.C, "Success of a mission doesn't hinge on your winning. You're not committed."

Steve shrugged. "I've never been a competitive person. Winning has never been important to me." The expression on Lois' face unsettled him. 

"Not competitive," she snorted. "I've never met anyone as dedicated to being a success at everything as you. You're afraid of failure."

Steve glanced at their gaming companions, all of which were in some state of unconsciousness and sighed in relief. While he knew he couldn't disagree with her assessment he didn't want anyone to witness it. "I push myself to be the best I can be. I was given a gift. What else can I do?"

"If you woke up tomorrow and your strength was gone, what would you do then?"

A shadow of dread crossed his face. It wasn't the first time that thought had crossed his mind. The procedure had changed him almost instantaneously, it stood to reason the reverse was possible.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

Lois put a hand on his arm. "I will trust and not be afraid. Isaiah 12:2," she said. "My Dad wasn't big on faith but my Grams and Pa were."

Steve nodded, he remembered all the prayer poems and Bible verses framed around the house. It reminded him of his mother's journal that he'd found after she died. All the people she had prayed for daily and the verses she'd recorded to strengthen her spirit. He hadn't prayed in years but he remembered praying for Chloe. "With everything that's happened, everyone I've lost, I wonder if anyone's listening."

"I don't have the faith my Grams did. I don't know if Chloe does either but I do believe in God and I know that the bad in the world isn't His doing. We all have choices to make, and those with powers have a greater responsibility to make tougher choices because of their gifts. But we are also more than what we can do, we have infinite value to Him. Surrender what we can't control, focus on what you can and live in the moment. A life unlived is the worst regret you could have. If you spend all your energy worrying over how you've failed or how not make mistakes you won't ever live. I think you've spent long enough not living, Steve."

Steve could only hang his head in a nod of agreement. Sure it wasn't by choice that more than 70 years and vanished in a blink, but he could choose not to keep dwelling in the past or worrying over all he was good for now. Lois had a point, he didn't have to be a soldier if he didn't want to be. There was more he could be doing with his life. Fighting one world war and saving his country had already cost him more than he had ever thought was possible. He had other skills besides fighting. Maybe it was time he started broadening his horizons. 

He decided then while he waited, prayed and hoped Chloe would wake up, he'd do a bit of research into how else he could serve others. He'd always been disappointed how little support there was for orphans and made a mental note to go by the local community centre on his way home and see what resources they were lacking and if they had any projects on the go he could volunteer for. 

Perhaps he could teach a self defense class. He didn't want anyone to go around picking fights but he also hoped to put a stop to any bullying these kids might be experiencing. Before Bucky had found him and taught him how to box he'd been beaten soundly on a regular basis. When he'd started putting up a fight it was only the one group of bigger boys that kept seeking him out, instead of every bully in the neighbourhood tracking him down.

Lois was bold, outspoken and a bit abrasive at times but he appreciated her candor and her friendship. Her presence reminded him that Chloe might be absent but she was far from forgotten and Lois' methods of therapy had certainly jerked him out of his brooding and into some kind of action.

::: ::: :::

When the fire alarm rang in his building and he had only enough time to scrambled into his sweatpants, forget wrestling with underwear, he'd tried that last time and ended up embarrassing himself, to find Lois already in the hallway in her bunny slippers and Flappy Bird PJs waiting on him, he had to remind himself that he liked the woman.

"Your super said to remind you about the evacuation drill this morning but I forgot. Sorry," she said.

Her expression was anything but apologetic. A few shrieks of surprise followed his abrupt appearance and there was a calamity as one older lady, blatantly ogling his naked chest barrelled into the back of a couple whom had been going down the stairs in front of her, it was like a domino effect.

Steve jumped the railing to the landing below to stop the falling individuals and caught a young woman who'd been knocked from behind, and stopped her from sailing head first down the stairs.

She took one look at who had caught her and swooned in his arms.

Lois, who had held onto the back of two children who had been jarred by the shoving, smirked and shrugged her shoulders in a 'What can you do,' motion.

He would pay her back for this later. An idea of how his dirty, greasy and alien blood stained uniform might come in handy formed in his mind. 

She didn't look like the type that scared easy but after a long night of her kind of revelling he doubted she was prepared to find a bloody looking Cap in her closet.

Sweeping the unconscious woman up in his arms, he shot her a narrowed glare before marching his way to the ground floor exit. 

No one out played him. And he had years of practice in biding his time.


End file.
